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The Challenges Facing the Teaching of English in Moroccan Universities:

Flaws in Planning, Failures in Implementation

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La revue Marocaine de la pensée contemporaine- IMIST-ma –Nunéro spécial- n10 juin 2022-ISSN :
2605-6488

The Challenges Facing the Teaching of English in Moroccan Universities:

Flaws in Planning, Failures in Implementation

Asmae Boukanouf, Nada Biddou, Abdellatif Al Ghadi

(Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences,

Mohammed V University of Rabat, Morocco
a.boukanouf@yahoo.fr , nada.biddou@gmail.com ,
alghadi@gmail.com)

Abstract:

As of 2015, there has been an ongoing debate on the importance of teaching English in
Moroccan higher education institutions. Indeed, an official circular issued by the Ministry of
Higher Education on May 20 th, 2016, went as far as making the mastery of English a
prerequisite for the doctoral graduation. While this is a laudable move inasmuch as it aims to
improve the quality of scientific research in Moroccan universities and by the same token to
ensure a certain visibility for Moroccan researchers at the international level, the Ministry’s
strategy and policy are not quite clear on how this could be achieved, and its implementation
as of 2016-17 leaves much to be desired. A number of vital questions need to be answered in
relation to the required language entry level given, the time and cost needed to reach the target
level, who should pay the bill etc.

While these are genuine questions that need to be answered (which we do elsewhere, see Al
Ghadi, A., Biddou, N., & Boukanouf, A (2016,2017)), we address in this paper how the
principal stakeholders, namely the population targeted by this policy, are reacting to this
move. As an initial step, we surveyed current doctoral students from different Moroccan
higher education institutions and report on their reactions in this paper. Preliminary results of
the survey show that while these vary from complete rejection of the decision by some to a
reasonable acceptance by others, the general impression is one of confusion and frustration.

Key Words: Higher Education, Language Planning, English Language Teaching, Language
Policy

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Introduction:

During the last couple of years, the Moroccan government has showed a great interest in the
English language especially at the level of higher education and scientific research. A circular
was thus issued in May 2016 urging higher education institutions to implement the teaching
of English at postgraduate programs, therefore making it a key requirement for those who
would like to pursue academic studies.

English is, in fact, introduced to Moroccan students starting from middle school for a minority
and from high school for the majority, unlike in private schools where students are introduced
to this language at the primary level. Issuing such a circular has raised a great debate among
doctoral students who feel anxious about the extent to which this decision will be beneficial
and how it could affect their academic tracks.

According to Al Ghadi, Biddou and Boukanouf (2017), students at the undergraduate level
are highly motivated to learn the language and wish its inclusion as of the first year of
undergraduate studies. Likewise, graduate students, especially those of scientific majors,
expressed their need to learn the language and requested to have it included throughout
graduate studies.

The biggest problem lies in the fact that no Moroccan university has launched yet any serious
official program for doctoral students to benefit from English classes with the objective of
enabling them to produce theses and articles in English. Only a few institutions have taken the
initiative to implement English within their research laboratories. However, these experiences
are not based on any solid grounds and, as a consequence, have drastically failed.

The whole decision is based on a series of statements that have been developed to encourage
the inclusion of this powerful language in Moroccan universities and mainly in scientific
research but failed to meet the objectives due to the lack of the important element of planning.
Moreover, lack of resources, monitoring and evaluation have contributed in slowing down the
process of acting on this decision. This state of affairs has had drastic effects on doctoral
students: they are currently caught between their motivations and needs to learn the language
for academic purposes on the one hand, and their willingness to conform to the standards
established by their research institutions in order to obtain their degrees on the other.

Both the government and the university officials seem indifferent to these escalating
problems, which have increased the feelings of insecurity and uncertainty among the
concerned community of young researchers: should they reconcile with the issue and comply

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with its requirements or risk their future by just overlooking it? Coming up with this decision
is a big step for the Moroccan government towards making of Moroccan higher education and
scientific research a decently advanced sector, but this decision has engendered huge
controversy and challenges calling into question how policy makers proceed with taking such
decisions without ensuring the means for their implementations.

1. Statement of the Problem

English is widely recognized as the lingua franca of higher education and research. It is the
most pre-dominantly used language in academic events, conferences, and research
publications worldwide (Narvaez-Berthelemot & Russell, 2001). The fact that it holds such a
status makes it a liability for non-English speaking researchers and students, who are put
under a huge pressure in both the event of academic collaborations and the success of their
careers as researchers (Canagarajah, 2002).

Likewise, Moroccan doctoral students recognize the role the English language plays in
academic advancement and feel anxious about how it affects their desire to pursue their
research interests and aims. In the eve of the prematurely issued 2016 circular, Moroccan
doctoral students were affronted with the outrageous statement imposing English as the key to
obtain doctorate degrees. The fact that this decision was taken abruptly constitutes a problem
for Moroccan researchers as it is meant to apply to all students regardless of their levels or
fields of specialization, which if taken seriously would hinder their academic achievement
and slow their progress.

Objectives

In this article, we aim to examine doctoral students’ reaction to the abrupt decision issued by
the former Minister of Higher Education and, by doing so, identify the possible ways to
implement the said decision.

Questions

The present study seeks to answer the following research questions:

1. Do students’ reactions reflect conformity with the sudden decision?

2. Are there any alternative and more effective ways to implement the teaching of
English in higher education?

3. Given the immediate implementation of the circular, how can doctoral students
redeem the missing English classes?

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2. Research Methods and Procedures

Taking into account the nature of the study’s data, we have resorted to a mixed method
approach for both data collection and analysis. The data collection process took place between
May 2016 and July 2017. It was implemented in three stages: As a starting point, we collected
doctoral students’ reactions to the announcement through Facebook as a social networking
platform and through short-interviews as the debate around the issue was taking place. The
feedbacks collected were a variation of against, for and neutral statements. At a later stage, we
designed a questionnaire to get a profound understanding of the issue. It is noteworthy to
mention that the questionnaire was distributed a year after the collection of the first set of the
data with the aim to re-affirm or refute the students’ previous reactions.

The questionnaire covered nine close-ended questions about the students’ previous English
language learning experience, their interest in learning English for academia, the type of
English desired (General, ESP, etc.), their acceptance or rejection of the ministerial decision
and lastly one open-ended question about their feelings and perceptions towards the official
statement. The interview, on the other hand, consisted of a series of questions related to the
students’ reactions to the decision of integrating English at the postgraduate level, their
worries and concerns, and finally their own rational suggestions to remedy the current
situation.

Population

Our targeted population consisted of a total of 136 doctoral students from different Moroccan
universities and different research laboratories representing first, second, and third official
years of doctoral studies, in addition to the two or more years of permitted extension. Out of
136 participants, 103 responded to the questionnaire while 33 took part in the interviews. As
far as the questionnaire is concerned, Table 1 provides a detailed description of the
population.

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Female Male
50.5% 49.5%
Students
52 51
Age 23 – 43 years
1st 25.2%
nd
2 21.4%
Level rd
3 36.9%
+2 16.5%
Table 1: Population distribution by gender, age, and level (Questionnaire)

We recorded a total of 103 participants of both genders, with a slightly higher participation of
females (50.5%). The respondents in the questionnaire aged between 23 and 43 years old, and
the majority were in their third year of doctoral studies (36.9%).

Female Male
60.6% 39.4%
Students
20 13
Age 25 – 45 years
1st 9.1%
nd
2 21.2%
Level rd
3 60.6%
+2 9.1%

Table 2: Population distribution by gender, age and level (Interview)

As far as the interviews are concerned, the respondents’ age varied between 25 and 45 years
old with an overwhelming majority of females (60.6%). As shown in Table 2, the largest
proportion of the participants were in their 3rd year (60.6%) majoring in humanities,
economics, law and sciences.

The participants belong to various research laboratories of different fields from several
Moroccan higher education institutions. The majority of the respondents (68%) declared they
previously received English language classes in high school while, out of 103, only 11 (10%)
benefited from English classes at university. The average (55%) respondents stated that they
had studied English for a minimum of 3 years (see the graphs below).

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As far as the teaching of English to doctoral students is concerned, only one third confirmed
that English classes are being given as part of their doctoral programs. Most probably because
most of these classes are not free, the great majority of the respondents1 revealed they have
never taken English classes within postgraduate studies. In the absence of English classes at
university, 97.1% of the respondents expressed their interest in learning the language
especially ESP, that is, English related to their fields of study and areas of research (63%).

1
Only 11.5% of the respondents declared they took English classes while studying at university.

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3. Data Analysis and Findings

The retrieved feedback, as explained in the research method section, was collected from both
interviewing Moroccan doctoral students on their Facebook group and, a year later, surveying
a group of respondents through the questionnaire. The doctoral students’ reactions varied
from total acceptance to total rejection. Those who showed agreement with the minister’s
circular claimed that English must be first implemented throughout undergraduate studies
with a continuation of the classes across higher education schools. Only then will it be
legitimate to apply this decision. Others went as far as suggesting the implementation of
English language teaching as early as Grade 1 (elementary). Additionally, they acknowledge
the importance of English in higher education especially that, in terms of research, the French
language has been at a disadvantage since most of the publications in French do not exceed
2.5%2. To this end, they suggested that there should be stylesheet guidelines to comply to the
standards of publication in international journals. From their reactions and feedbacks, we
conclude that Moroccan doctoral students are fully aware of the importance of English in
academia.

On the opposing side, those who were not in favor of the decision argued that instead of
condemning their mother tongues, especially with the existence of English, most developed
countries preserved their own linguistic heritage. Additionally, a minority of the doctoral
students who commented on the Facebook post saw that integrating English as part of higher
education curricula in general and in postgraduate studies in particular constitutes a threat to
Darija and Standard Arabic. In addition to the aforementioned reasons, the doctoral students
attested to the unrealistic expectations of the said decision, especially for those preparing
theses in French or Arabic who are required, nonetheless, to hold their viva in English. They
view English as a barrier to students’ access to postgraduate studies due to their lack of
mastery of the language. Aligning with their claims, doctoral students suggest that policy
makers should have thought about implementing English, with a volume of no less than 120
hours per academic year, a long time ago within both undergraduate and graduate studies
instead of suddenly imposing it now on doctoral students.

It seems that those who took a somehow middle position believe that acquiring a foreign
language is no longer an issue as one can have access to English classes in different language
centers. The issue lies between the students and the government, as there is apparently neither

2
The reported percentage was extracted from the Facebook group “Doctorants Marocains”, from which we gathered, through
postings, doctoral students’ feedbacks and reactions about the said issue.

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any readiness for self-development on the part of the students nor any careful planning on the
part of the government. In other words, students do not commit to attending classes when
these are offered for free, nor do they seek to develop their linguistic skills on their own. The
government in turn is also to blame since it has failed to provide a clear and efficient work
plan to universities and the authorities responsible for implementing this decision.

Referring back to the questionnaire which was distributed to a large number of doctoral
students across different Moroccan universities, we observed that the collected responses
significantly corroborate the statements collected from the Facebook post.

As Graph 5 illustrates, the degree of acceptance is of 73%. These contradictory results show
that there is no consistency in terms of the students’ acceptance or rejection of the said
circular. Moroccan doctoral students appear to be confused regarding the enforced decision, a
decision which in itself has not been implemented. These doctoral students are required to
publish a minimum of one article in English even if they are not qualified, at least
linguistically speaking, to write in English a decent article that conforms to the established
academic standards. To overcome the lack thereof, instead of relying on themselves, students
often resort to translators, who charge a lot for mostly badly translated drafts.3

The postgraduate researchers, as a result, find themselves in a situation that at best slows their
productivity and at worst drives them to dropping out. Moreover, it denies them the right to a
large number of opportunities especially at the international level such as getting grants and

3
Semi-structured interviews took place before the administration of the surveys as the targeted population was reachable.
Thus, we found it practical to administer the interviews before the questionnaires.

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scholarships, participating in international conferences, and publishing in indexed

international journals.

On the one hand, even when volunteering to offer free English language classes at
universities, teachers, on their part, find themselves giving classes with no clear objectives, let
alone developed curricula. Thus, they are obliged to develop their own syllabi and come up
with their own teaching materials. Students, on the other hand, are not committed to attending
classes since these are both free of charge and not part of their doctoral program assessment.
To make the teachers’ task even more formidable, the teachers have to face mixed level
classes with different language needs, which result in the students’ not taking any benefit
from the classes.

Moroccan PhD students do appreciate this ministerial initiative and encourage its
implementation. Yet, they are fully aware of the challenges facing its implementation and the
efforts needed for its planning. 99% believe that English is a major key to success in
academia and is essential for them to advance in their doctoral studies. Some of them also
stress its role in developing their professional careers.

Graphs 6 and 7 below demonstrate students’ awareness of English teaching and the
importance of including it within the doctoral programs.

Moroccan PhD students are in an immense need of English classes within their doctoral
programs, as the mastery of this language will grant them the possibility to access
international references, write articles and give presentations. We believe that if these students
devoted a minimum of two hours of their free time to well-structured classes per week, they
could considerably improve their basic language skills.

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Through the short-interviews conducted with a small sample of doctoral students at

Mohammed V University – Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences in Rabat (Henceforth
FLSHR), we have noticed their eagerness and motivation to learn the language sometimes
even from scratch.

In fact, the FLSHR has already made a first step towards implementing the teaching of
English at the postgraduate level, an initiative which was free of charge for the students and
voluntary for the teachers. This pilot experiment took place during Fall 2015. Students who
registered their interest in learning the language were subject to a pre-test with the aim to
evaluate their levels, then were distrubted accordingly. Generally, the experience was
successful in terms of the readiness of the students and the availability of the teaching faculty.
However, the teaching was cut short after one term due to the nature of the experiment having
taken place.

The interviewed students also expressed their concerns about the lack of mastery of the
language on their part. They also stated they feel pressured by the faculty and administration
as they have to submit their articles and abstracts translated from Arabic or French into
English. Some also expressed their frustration when attending international conferences held
at the FLSHR and in which English is used as the main working language. English represents
for most of them a handicap standing between linguistic achievement and academic
excellence.

4. Implications and suggested solutions

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Doctoral students’ reaction to the abrupt decision issued by the former Minister of Higher
Education is perceived as reasonable since they are put in a conflicting situation in which they
have to adhere to the official decisions but are provided with no substantial support and
guidance. Their reactions are legitimate given the absence of frameworks which will ensure
the implementation of the decision entailing the inclusion of the English language in higher
education programs.

The program of implementing this decision is not as easy as it appears since it needs a lot of
efforts, planning, and resources to install it in each Moroccan university. For the time being,
we believe that it is quite challenging if not impossible for the currently registered doctorate
students to reach the desired level of English and, anyway, from a purely legal point of view,
the new decision should not apply to them given the principle of non-retroactivity of the law.
However, we can start on a solid ground for the future doctoral students by, first of all,
including mandatory English language classes to all the existing majors starting from the first
year of undergraduate studies. These classes should cover General English and basic language
skills up to the third year, with an additional two hours ESP class in the fields of
specialization in the final year. Eventually, a pre-test must be administered at the very
beginning of the first year so as to place the students into the appropriate levels. When
accessing the graduate level, students can then easily benefit from intensive ESP classes since
they will have already covered GE language courses and introductory ESP classes during
their undergraduate studies.

To make the learning and the teaching of English more effective, facilities and materials must
be made available to the teaching staff. Classes should be equipped with new information
technology materials and teaching resources. Textbooks, dictionaries, audio and internet, must
be made available to both teachers and students for free to ensure an effective learning. In
addition to that, an induction session has to be scheduled before the start of each term in order
to inform the students of the regulations of the course and their incumbant responsibility.
They have to be aware of the importance of this language class and how it could affect their
academic achievements. This induction session will make them aware of their rights,
obligations as well as the advantages they will eventually draw from the experience.

The teachers’ responsibilities must also be underscored. The appointed full time teaching staff
must be held responsible for their classes and teaching. Much effort should be invested in
teacher training, especially at the higher education level. The teachers need to be provided

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with a full time program and with the evaluation standards. It is worthy to note that these
English language classes are meant to be interactive, interesting, and rich in terms of content.

Finally, the administration is to show unconditional support to the teachers and the students,
and that is by providing them with the appropriate learning and teaching conditions. It should
monitor both the performance of the teachers and the learning of the students via regular tests
and evaluations.

Another important element is the content which has to be constantly reviewed and renewed
when necessary. Monitoring and evaluation is a key element in the success of the educational
systems as it helps reconsidering the teaching approaches and the content delivered to the
students. If stepped out, gaps in the teaching and the learning will evolve since the teaching
and learning contents are adaptable by nature and should meet the needs of both language
learners and instructors.

Conclusion:

All in all, the feasibility of compensating English language classes for doctoral students is
requires a lot of time and resources, which are not available at the moment. The Moroccan
university is still not well equipped to handle such issues, especially at the operational level in
which stakeholders decide but do not debate such circulars. Their decisions are mostly
arbitrary and are not founded on concrete fieldwork studies. The only effective way to
implement the teaching of English in higher education is to restructure the educational system
at university. Only then can we endeavor in planning the English language teaching for the
postgraduate level. Implementing this decision should be done in four stages: the first stage is
the research phase followed by the consultancy stage. Once the latter is completed,
stakeholders should embark on the third stage which is program planning and development,
then move to the last stage of the implementation.

Doctoral students’ reactions to the said circular must be taken into account. Their opinions
and reflections with regard to the matter are of high importance when thinking in terms of
language planning. Their frustration is translated into resentment against the whole
educational system since they believe that it has failed them and only complicated their
academic lives. Ergo, we urge the Ministry of Education to take the discussed factors into
consideration by consulting field experts and collecting the necessary data to insure what
appropriate approaches to adopt and what other possible factors to take into account. Only by

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framing the issue at hand can we guarantee a better quality and productivity at the Moroccan
university.

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